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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23793907">let's go to the beach!</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenmagoesblep/pseuds/kenmagoesblep'>kenmagoesblep</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Day At The Beach, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor, M/M, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Team as Family</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:47:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,650</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23793907</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenmagoesblep/pseuds/kenmagoesblep</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This shenanigan Ukai currently sees himself stuck in the middle of, like many others, started during an innocent conversation. One that, in a surprising turn of events, snowballed into a Team Vacation Trip, that went as far as including Takeda and Ukai in all the mess.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Takeda Ittetsu/Ukai Keishin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>221</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>HQ!! Writers Fic Exchange</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>let's go to the beach!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryankellycc/gifts">jellyryans (ryankellycc)</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>or, how i like to call it, the beach episode we never got.</p><p>hi!! hello!!! this is the first time i step foot in the ukatake tag, and im thankful to be here!! this is my fic to colleen (jellyryans) for our server's fic exchange!! thank you for being so patient!!! i know im a couple of days late (more than i originally intended to oof), but i hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless!!! theres a couple more ships if you squint, but not enough to warrant it's own tag, sorry ksldghdsgklsdk</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>This shenanigan Ukai currently sees himself stuck in the middle of, like many others, started during an innocent conversation. Ukai’s sure it was Azumane who started it, funnily enough, considering he isn’t one of the known troublemakers of the team. But one of them is Sugawara, to whom Azumane was telling about his family’s plans to go to the beach that summer, and that he could invite some friends to come with them. That it would be cool if all of them could go on a trip together on their last year as classmates. Which was touching, really. The other third years seemed equally moved. </p><p> </p><p>Until Sawamura (innocently) asked if more people could come along, to which Azumane foolishly said ‘yes’, and then Sugawara proceeded to invite Tanaka, who told Nishinoya, who screamed to all the other second years and who was overheard by Hinata, who hyped Kageyama into joining because of the possibility of training in the sand, and then Yamaguchi came in and decided to convince Tsukishima, who initially didn’t seem like he would come but would surprise everyone in the end.</p><p> </p><p>And then, <em> somehow, </em>Takeda and Ukai got included in their little beach adventure.</p><p> </p><p>“What? No,” Ukai replied right away. “If you guys want to go out and have fun for a weekend, it’s fine, but I have no reason to go.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why not?” Sugawara, the one who approached him, asked incredulously.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Why would I?” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“But it’ll feel wrong if you two don’t come!” Hinata exclaimed from the first year’s circle on the other side of the court, making puppy eyes at them. “It’s a team vacation!!! You guys have to come!!!” The rest of the team followed his stare, seemingly in agreement with that statement.</p><p> </p><p>“Listen, I appreciate the sentiment, but I have other, better things to do on my weekends,” Ukai said, giving a spare glance at Takeda from the corner of his eyes, hoping that he’d get his innuendo and agree. They have very limited time to spend together other than the weekends and, a lot of times, they don’t do much more than watch a movie and doze off on the couch because they’re constantly tired, but with a couple of days without worrying about volleyball training…</p><p> </p><p>“It sounds like great fun!” Takeda exclaims instead, eyes shining with true enthusiasm, perching on Ukai’s shoulder. “Where do you guys wanna go? What do you guys have planned so far?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not much,” Sugawara said with a shrug. “We wanted to crash at Asahi’s family’s beach house but it’s too many of us now, so we’re accepting suggestions.” </p><p> </p><p>“Ah, yes, that would be too big of an inconvenience for them, but we could settle on some place close! Maybe we can find an inn in the same town?”</p><p> </p><p><em> “Are you serious?!” </em> Ukai whispered to Takeda. “I thought we were-”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t be such a grinch, we’re gonna have fun,” Takeda whispered back. “Trust me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Takeda-sensei’s coming with us??” Hinata and a couple more asked in unison.</p><p> </p><p>“The two of us are going, of course!” he squeezed Ukai’s shoulders as he said it, smiling at the team, who celebrated louder than necessary. “I convinced him to join us as a coach before, it can’t be that hard to convince him again!” </p><p> </p><p>“That’s enough of this talk, already! Weren’t you all supposed to be training your serves?!” the teens scattered faster than the rats in Ratatouille when Ukai finally lost his temper, some apologizing, most of them giggling. “You can plan your vacation when we’re done!” </p><p> </p><p><em> I’m not going, </em> Ukai repeated to himself a couple of times after that, pushing the thought to the back of his mind. <em> That is, of course, if they really do that. I doubt it.  </em></p><p> </p><p>That wasn’t their first rodeo. Many times before, the Karasuno boys came up with some fantastic, absurd hangout plan that never came through, because that’s what teens do. It’s all well-spirited and fun but rarely gets done. Ukai and his friends used to do that a lot.</p><p> </p><p>But, surprisingly enough, in a couple of days, actual plans started to come up. Real, tangible trip plans. Inn names, beach names and an uncle with a rentable minibus start coming up more and more during conversations. And with the help of their dedicated club advisor with his Adult People Skills, the team started piecing together a real trip that they could do that summer without compromising their training schedule <em> too much </em> (“Training in sand would be good,” Kageyama chimed in with enthusiasm and a good point no one expected of him. “The sand is no joke...”) that wouldn’t be too heavy on their pockets, either. Slowly but surely, the travel group is settled and the expenses are equally divided.</p><p> </p><p>That was when it started getting more tempting to Ukai. He hasn’t gone to the beach in many years. Takeda and he had been planning on going on a trip together for a while now, too. It wouldn’t be a luxury vacation in a bougie beach just the two of them, but it would be refreshing and fun. </p><p> </p><p>Besides, he cares about these kids more than he’s willing to admit, and they’re good company... most of the time.  </p><p> </p><p>Still, he played hard to get for a couple more days, pretending he wasn’t listening to the discussion on beaches to go to, inns to stay at, how they would travel, activities and games to play while they’d be there; ignoring the tentative looks the students would throw his way from time to time. </p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure you don’t wanna go?” Takeda asked sweetly once they left the gym for that day, squeezing his hand tight, smiling like he knew he already won this game. “I’m sure it’ll be fun. And the team would be really disappointed if you didn’t.” </p><p> </p><p>“ ...I’ll consider it,” Ukai muttered in response, looking elsewhere.  Takeda hummed contentedly in return.</p><p> </p><p>Which leads to where they are now: it’s weeks later, early Friday morning, the whole team decided to join, everything is paid for and they’re all grouped in front of Ukai’s family’s convenience store before leaving. The boys are all chatting, too excited to pay attention to him, and that’ll surely leave Ukai with a couple noise complaints from the neighbors to deal with when he comes back. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay, is everyone here?” Ukai says loudly, climbing the first steps of the bus to check the group. When no one pays attention, he groans and starts counting. “That’s Hinata, Kageyama, Tsukishima…” </p><p> </p><p>“I think everyone’s here,” Takeda chimes in, leaning against the bus on his right side, too energetic and happy for his liking. When he checks, Takeda’s looking intently at him, two cups of coffee in hand. “I kept track of them as they showed up.” </p><p> </p><p>“Ah… thanks,” Ukai mumbles, slightly less annoyed, taking one of the cups and giving it a long sip. He’s gonna need a lot of caffeine this weekend. </p><p> </p><p>“Should we get going?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, it’s gonna be a long ride.” Ukai takes another long sip from his coffee and cleans his throat. “Everyone, let’s load the bus and go!”</p><p> </p><p>“Coach, can I go to the toilet first?” screams Hinata, jumping from foot to foot like an antsy dog.</p><p> </p><p>“Wh- Hinata, why haven’t you-” </p><p> </p><p>“Be quick about it, please,” Takeda interrupts with a smile, putting a hand on Ukai’s shoulder and feeling it sag as he sighs in irritation.</p><p> </p><p>After multiple stops to use the public toilets, petty arguments over what playlist they want to put on the bus’ music player and way too many rounds of road games for kids, they manage to cross Miyagi prefecture and get to the shore. </p><p> </p><p>They arrive at their inn just shy of noon. It’s so warm out that Ukai can see the heatwave emanating from the pavement, the sun high above them, casting barely any shadows, and the inn — smaller yet in a better state of repair than the pictures online suggest, he notes — looks more inviting than ever. The view is good, too. It isn’t right near the beach, but it’s up on a steep hill a couple of blocks up from the shore, making it possible to see the ocean in the background. It’s also right next to a laundromat, which is really neat. </p><p> </p><p>There’s not much time to admire at the moment, though. There’s no grocery store, convenience store or restaurant in the near vicinity and they’re gonna have to figure out lunch sooner rather than later. </p><p> </p><p>“Alright, everyone, let’s get our stuff from the bus and get in!” Takeda announces as he goes towards the entrance door, spinning the keys in his index finger. Ukai busies himself with opening the minibus’ trunk to get the things out. “You’re all free to explore the premises and pick the rooms you’d all like to sleep in, but please make it back to the living room! We have to decide what we’re going to do!”</p><p> </p><p>“Some of you, come help me,” Ukai points in the general direction of the Karasuno team, before they can all scatter. It isn’t much use, because he can see Tanaka and Nishinoya already running off towards a nearby vending machine. “There’s a lot of things to get from the trunk.”</p><p> </p><p>“Right!” A couple of them reply and follow behind him. </p><p> </p><p>“Race you to the rooms!” Hinata exclaims and sprints inside with Kageyama eagerly following in his step not a second later, almost throwing Takeda off balance. </p><p> </p><p>“OI, CAREFUL!” Ukai yells immediately. Takeda flashes him a toothy grin and laughs when he flusters. The little group behind Ukai looks at him strangely after that.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m okay! No need to defend me!” the teacher says, letting out a breathy laugh.</p><p> </p><p>“What are they even competing for, now?” Sugawara asks with a chuckle, helping unload the bus like a decent human being. </p><p> </p><p>“I have no idea…” Azumane, another helpful soul, replies with a sigh. “How do they have the energy for this? Aren’t they tired from the trip?”</p><p> </p><p>Sugawara replies with a shrug and an “I don’t know” sound. </p><p> </p><p>“That’s just how their friendship works, I guess,” Ennoshita chimes in. “If they’re not competing over something, they can’t function. Like little siblings.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah…” </p><p> </p><p>By the time all the bags and the food they brought along (mostly rice, noodles and canned goods, they still have to buy the fresh goods) gets taken out of the trunk and brought inside, the few students who helped him leave as well, and Ukai is left alone in the entrance. </p><p> </p><p>“So, what do you think so far?” Takeda comes closer and wraps an arm around his back in a loose embrace, now that there’s no one to look at them. </p><p> </p><p>“Place’s neat, teens are rowdy,” he replies simply, reciprocating the gesture and getting a giggle in response. “But the beach seems pretty good.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know, right? I’m excited to go spend some time there.”</p><p> </p><p>“Me too.”</p><p> </p><p>They share a moment of tender, calm silence, just appreciating each other and the distant sound of the waves, before screams coming from inside bring them back to reality. </p><p> </p><p>“I'll go get our stuff to our room, here on the first floor.” Takeda lets out a sigh and steps away. “Can you gather everyone in the living room in the meantime?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure, can’t be that hard.”</p><p> </p><p>It isn’t hard, per se, but it is a bit of a handful. The teens really spread across the spacious inn in a jiffy. Ukai finds the chill second years (meaning Ennoshita, Kinoshita and Narita) on the living room playing in their phones, and so are Yamaguchi and Tsukishima, the latter taking a nap on the tatami floor; Hinata and Kageyama are upstairs, yelling excitedly about… something; he catches a glimpse of Yachi and Kiyoko roaming the hallways in search of a room, chatting cheerfully; Nishinoya, Tanaka and Sugawara are in the kitchen sharing a myriad of weird canned foods they found on that vending machine; Sawamura and Azumane are sitting in the back of the inn watching the ocean, nagging like two old men about being stiff from the long road trip. </p><p> </p><p>Ukai huffs, puffs, wonders what about their instructions were unclear and rounds them all up to come to the living room.</p><p> </p><p>“Is everyone here?” Ukai asks, getting a loud and clear ‘Yes!’ as a reply. “Okay, good. So, it’s… just past noon, and none of us…” his eyes drift towards Sugawara and Tanaka, sitting squeezed together in the corner of the room sharing some gross canned yakisoba. “<em> Most of us </em> haven’t eaten anything. What do you guys want to do first?”</p><p> </p><p>Everyone speaks at the same time and no one agrees. The sound of it hurts Ukai’s ears.</p><p> </p><p>Ukai pinches the bridge of his nose. Why is he surprised? Thankfully, Takeda chooses to step in after that, showing up in the living room in a completely different outfit. He looks like a stereotypical tourist at the beach, already in his swimming shorts, a half open short-sleeved floral shirt and… a fanny pack. By god, this man is gay. The look is more flattering on him than it should.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, everyone, can you guys repeat? Not all at the same time, now?”</p><p> </p><p>“Get lunch!!” scream some of them.</p><p> </p><p>“Go to the beach!!” another group says afterwards.</p><p> </p><p>“Take a nap…” murmurs Tsukishima in the end, followed by the tired hums of agreement of a couple more of them.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright…” Takeda claps his hands together and takes a deep breath. “How about… we figure out what to eat for lunch, and after that, you guys go do whatever you want?”</p><p> </p><p>It doesn’t seem to sit well with the most excitable of them, at first, but slowly, they all start humming along and nodding their agreements, much to the two adults’ relief. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay, coach Ukai and I are going out to buy fresh food, you can all rest in the meantime. We’ll need help when we get back!”</p><p> </p><p>“Alright!” the teens yell.</p><p> </p><p>“Third years are responsible while we’re not here,” Ukai adds. “Don’t let anyone set this inn on fire. Don’t start fires, yourselves, either.”</p><p> </p><p>“Roger that!” the four of them reply, laughing.</p><p> </p><p>“Hear that, Sugawara? No arson this time,” Sawamura jokes, laughing harder when Sugawara gasps in mock offense.</p><p> </p><p>“Me? I would never do something like that! I don’t even know how to light a match, I could never do it even if I wanted to,” he claims with a hand to his chest. </p><p> </p><p>Ukai and Takeda laugh briefly but walk out of the room soon after, leaving them to their little conversation. It certainly goes on if the laughter is any indication. </p><p> </p><p>After a quick search on Takeda’s phone, they find a grocery store a couple of miles away that they could walk to at any time, but decide to go by minibus. The amount of things they plan on buying is too much to be carried by two men alone. Maybe it’d be possible if everyone would stick around to help, but… just the thought gives Ukai a headache. </p><p> </p><p>So they drive there and shop as fast as they can. It’s hard, though — they are shopping for fresh produce in a large enough quantity to feed <em> 16 people, </em> which gets quite a few people staring at them with varying levels of anger, judgement and/or plain confusion. </p><p> </p><p>The face the cashier makes when Takeda announces he’s paying for all of that in cash and pulls out a fat stack of yen bills from his fanny pack is the highlight of the shopping trip, though. It is both hilarious and incredibly embarrassing and the two of them laugh about it the whole way back. </p><p> </p><p>As expected, everyone’s energies are pretty low after the long road trip, and a good chunk of their afternoon goes by lazily. After they’re done with lunch, they mellow down for an hour or two. Many of them go upstairs to nap, and those who stay awake gather in the living room to watch TV, play cards and chat for a while. </p><p> </p><p>It’s peaceful enough that even Ukai and Takeda manage to doze off for half an hour, until the Karasuno boys wake up with full energy and start running around the hallways, their heavy steps on the floorboards echoing in the first floor.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, it’s beach volleyball time already?” Ukai mumbles groggily, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. The other one is buried under Takeda’s back, who seems like he was awake the whole time checking his phone.</p><p> </p><p>“I think so, yeah,” Takeda replies, turning around to face him with a lazy grin. “Did you bring the portable net you were talking about?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah… my old man wasn’t too happy when I asked for it, but he conceded. It’s on the trunk.” </p><p> </p><p>“That’s nice of him,” he says and goes quiet for a while. Ukai closes his eyes again, having trouble keeping them open, but he knows he’s being stared at lovingly. Takeda does that a lot, especially when they just woke up. “Do you want to get it and go to the beach, or do you wanna sleep some more?” </p><p> </p><p>“I’ll go…” he mumbles and stretches his limbs in an attempt to shake the sleep away, but it’s a useless effort. </p><p> </p><p>“You don’t really want to, do you?” Takeda says with a chuckle, his sitting up motion moving the futon around, then he leans down to leave a peck on his cheek. Ukai admits defeat and nods. “Sleep some more, when you wake up, you can go find us at the beach.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sounds good to me.” </p><p> </p><p>He dozes off for another half an hour before his body decides it’s done, and, like Takeda said, they were all at the beach — half of them on the improvised court, the other half goofing off in the water, splashing around and laughing out loud. And, if anyone asks, he <em> doesn’t </em> linger on the side of the beach without approaching them for a second just to look fondly at the scene like a proud parent, no no. He was just observing their techniques. </p><p> </p><p>Ukai doesn’t go unnoticed for too long, though. In a moment’s notice, the boys stop playing and stare at him, at first smiling cheerfully, but after they spare a few glances with each other, they turn mischievous. Takeda holds the ball and observes, laughing under his breath.</p><p> </p><p>“You guys don’t need to stop playing because I’m here,” Ukai says, waving his hands dismissively. </p><p> </p><p>“That’s not it, coach,” Tanaka replies, laughing in a way that, if Ukai didn’t know him, he would’ve thought he’s in some kind of danger. Quickly, he notices that his makeshift team — that being Nishinoya, Sugawara and also Hinata — are all walking towards him with similar evil smiles on their faces. The boys on the other side of the net watch. </p><p> </p><p>“What are you guys doing?” he squints suspiciously, taking a step back. It’s in that moment that the four of them jump him, screaming some nonsense and raising him from the ground in one swift movement. “OI, WHAT IS THIS?!”</p><p> </p><p>“PUNISHMENT,” Nishinoya yells, pushing him up. “PUNISHMENT FOR YOUR SINS!” </p><p> </p><p>“WHAT?!”</p><p> </p><p>“LAZINESS WON’T BE FORGIVEN IN THIS FAMILY!” </p><p> </p><p>“YEAHHHH!” the other 3 horsemen of the apocalypse yell out before joining in laughter, starting to run towards the ocean. The Karasuno team members that aren’t directly carrying Ukai cheer them on, chanting ‘Throw him! Throw him! Throw him!’, clapping and laughing.  Other people on the beach watch in amusement. </p><p> </p><p>“HEY, STOP THAT! PUT ME DOWN!” Ukai yells and starts thrashing around, in hopes that they’ll let him go and drop him in the sand. <b>“SENSEI,”</b> he looks behind him, where Takeda stands near the volleyball net. “A LITTLE HELP HERE?!” </p><p> </p><p>“Do you guys hear something?” Takeda asks instead, looking at the other boys standing on the other side of the net, and they all shake their heads in response. <em> The betrayal!  </em></p><p> </p><p>“DON’T THROW ME IN THE WATER,” Ukai warns the boys, who only keep laughing and jogging towards the sea, even more determined now. “MY PHONE’S IN MY POCKET, IF IT BREAKS, I SWEAR-”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not anymore!” Sugarawa sing-songs as a reply, raising a hand to reveal that he somehow fished Ukai’s phone from his back pocket without him noticing, swinging it around like it’s a prize. </p><p><br/>“WHAT THE-”</p><p> </p><p>It’s no use protesting anymore. The boys are already in the water, waves hitting their ankles and sprinkling Ukai’s back with foam, and they let him down only so each of them can grab one of Ukai’s limbs. Then, they swing him around while counting down 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… and let him go, throwing him forward and into deeper waters than they were standing at. </p><p> </p><p>Ukai falls ungraciously in the water, shivering at the sensation of the crisp water engulfing him and his ass hitting the wet sand.</p><p> </p><p>But when he rises from the cold pacific waters and looks towards the beach, sees all their overjoyed faces, Ukai can’t be mad for real. </p><p> </p><p>He still yells at them for good measure. They can’t think they can do that to their coach all the time.  </p><p> </p><p>After that, their thirst for chaos seems to be quenched, as they proceed with their games at the beach until it gets dark and windy, returning to the inn with little to no resistance. Things are calm throughout the whole night and, finally, the exhaustion of a long day settles in, allowing everyone to sleep peacefully until sunrise.</p><p> </p><p>Saturday morning comes and things start off wrong right from the beginning. As soon as he’s awake, Ukai notices that there is some sort of commotion going on on the second floor. People pacing through the hallways, speaking loudly, laughing, whining… </p><p> </p><p>Ah, yeah… Sunburns. Ukai knew someone was bound to forget to put sunscreen on. </p><p> </p><p>As he gets dressed to get in on the situation, Ukai starts making bets on who are the poor bastards who forgot to put sunscreen on in the middle of summer. Hinata is a good contestant given the fact that he’s the most forgetful boy of the team. Or perhaps it was Tanaka, or even Narita, with their buzzcuts leaving their scalps unprotected to the wrath of the sun. </p><p> </p><p>Nope. Once he tracks the origin of the commotion, it was, in fact, Tsukishima, who’s laying down on top of his futon wearing only his underwear, looking so red he could be mistaken as one of those skinless anatomy models. The only spots left undamaged are his thighs and the incredibly precise marking of his glasses. Everyone’s sitting around his futon with multiple flasks of personal hygiene products spread around the floor. </p><p> </p><p>“Tsukishima, are… are you okay?” Ukai tries to hold in the laugh that tickles in his throat. </p><p><br/>“Does it look like I’m okay, coach?” Tsukishima answers his question with a question, and… Okay, he has to give it to the boy. It was a pretty stupid question. </p><p> </p><p>“Right, sorry I asked.” </p><p> </p><p>“How did you get burned so bad, Stingyshima? Are you a vampire?” Hinata asks, running a finger along his teammate’s arm and watching the white streak that stays on his skin for a couple of seconds. “I saw you put sunscreen on!”</p><p> </p><p>“Can you <em> not?!” </em> Tsukishima practically growls, smacking Hinata’s hand away and regretting it immediately, wincing loudly. Everyone winces in unison. “Oh, please, just end my existence already.”</p><p> </p><p>“Calm down, I’m sure someone brought some calming lotion.” Ukai looks around the room and sees everyone avoid his gaze in one way or another. “Really? No one?”</p><p> </p><p>“I have some,” Ennoshita says. “but Tsukishima says he’s allergic to it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Anyone else?”</p><p> </p><p>Everyone in the room but Tsukishima shake their heads. </p><p> </p><p>“We showed him a bunch of our things and he can’t use them,” Kiyoko explains, putting back her belongings in her vanity bag. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m allergic to aloe vera,” Tsukishima finally explains.</p><p> </p><p>“ … Wow…” </p><p> </p><p>Ukai had no idea people could be allergic to aloe vera in the first place, but… the more you know! That is a big issue, though. Ukai isn’t even sure there are other anti-sunburn products available in the market, since he barely ever needs them. They’re gonna have to find some for Tsukishima or else the entire vacation is ruined for him, but the one with all the money is…</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, where’s Takeda?” </p><p> </p><p>The students all shrug, shake their heads or mumble ‘I don’t know’ at the same time. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay, I’m going to find him and we’ll go to a drugstore,” Ukai announces, already halfway out of the room. </p><p> </p><p>“Wait! I’ll go, too!” Yamaguchi stands up in a second. “I know some lotions that Tsukki can use!” </p><p> </p><p>“Thanks for offering, Yamaguchi, but it can’t be that hard, can it?”</p><p> </p><p>“They’re hard to find,” Tsukishima rebutes. </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, but I know them by the labels, so I could probably find one!”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh… okay,” How specific are Tsukishima’s allergies? Is it not limited to the aloe vera? Ukai doesn’t press the subject. “Takeda, Yamaguchi and I are going to the drugstore, so you guys shou-” his thought is interrupted as soon as he lays eyes on Hinata and sees him poking Tsukishima’s arm again. “Hinata! Stop doodling on Tsukishima!”</p><p> </p><p>“I will <em> destroy </em> your bloodline, Hinata, I swear,” Tsukishima motions to get up, moves an inch and gives up. </p><p> </p><p>“You’re gonna have to move your limbs to do that, Tsukishima,” Sugawara says with a giggle. </p><p> </p><p>“Come on, guys, knock it off,” Nishinoya, of all people, says, but then he continues with barely contained laughter: “You’re making all his body flush.” </p><p> </p><p>Everyone explodes into fits of hysterical laughter while Tsukishima just looks at the ceiling and heaves a long, loud, frustrated sigh. </p><p> </p><p>“Hang in there, Tsukishima,” Ukai says sympathetically. “We won’t take long.”</p><p> </p><p>“I will.” </p><p> </p><p>And with that, Ukai, with Yamaguchi following right behind him, leave the room to search for Takeda. He’s not sleeping, that much Ukai’s sure of, but where could he be that no one knows where he is? He can’t possibly be taking a shit for the last half an hour, can he? </p><p> </p><p>Doesn’t take long to figure out. The three of them stumble on one another in the hallway, and Takeda smiles freely, saying that he had been looking for the students for a couple of minutes now. If the damp hair and smell of mint soap is any indication, he was taking an early shower, which explains his absence — and how he is completely unaware of Tsukishima’s conundrum. They quickly break the news to him, tell him the plan and he agrees, proactively searching for a nearby drugstore as they speak.</p><p> </p><p>In the end, there is a drugstore a couple of blocks down the hill, on the way to the beach, and they make their way there in a silent quick walk there. At least Ukai and Takeda walk there — Yamaguchi power walks, almost starts sprinting at some point, and walks inside the drugstore while the two adults are still two blocks up the street. The boy’s clearly nervous, like Tsukishima’s life is hanging by a thread, being held at gunpoint by the Sun itself, and it will pull the trigger if Yamaguchi doesn’t show up with anti-sunburn lotion in X minutes. </p><p> </p><p>It’s just sunburn. It looks nasty, sure, definitely is uncomfortable, but Tsukishima will be alive even if they arrive 20 minutes later. </p><p> </p><p>They find Yamaguchi at the Sunscreen aisle, crouched down to check the bottom row’s products, reading the labels attentively. He barely notices them behind them until Takeda clears his throat.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you need help finding it, Yamaguchi-kun?” he asks, bending down slightly. Feels weird to be looking down on Yamaguchi when the boy is so tall. </p><p> </p><p>“No need, sensei,” he replies without sparing them a glance, squinting intently at one of the bottles in his hand. </p><p> </p><p>“Alright… so, we’ll be on the other aisles, checking if we need anything else, okay?” Takeda doesn’t wait for confirmation before linking his arm with Ukai’s, tapping at his forearm and smiling contentedly. </p><p> </p><p>“‘Kay.”</p><p> </p><p>As far as he knows, they don’t need anything else. Takeda and he prepared quite the extensive first aids kit before the day of the trip, with pills and ailments to more things than they would probably ever need, but Ukai lets Takeda take him on a stroll around the drugstore, his pace slow and distracted, stopping by to stare mindlessly at any random item before he starts walking again.</p><p> </p><p>This isn’t about finding medicine, for sure. Ukai isn’t one to complain. </p><p> </p><p>“What do you think of the trip, so far?” Takeda asks, stopping by a random aisle. </p><p> </p><p>“Terrible, I hate it here,” Ukai spits out without even thinking. He starts checking the bottles in the shelves absentmindedly, picking up some headache medication and reading the label just out of curiosity. “600 yen for placebo pills? That’s crazy.” </p><p> </p><p>“I thought you were starting to have fun,” he pouts slightly, holding his arm a little closely. </p><p> </p><p>“I mean…” he puts the bottle back on the shelf and scratches the back of his neck. Takeda starts walking again. “It’s not absolutely awful, but I don’t really have the patience to deal with their… Their whole…” </p><p> </p><p>“Chaotic teen energy?” Takeda supplies helpfully and Ukai nods. “Yeah, I can imagine. Sometimes it can be a bit too much for me, as well, but I grew used to it. Being a teacher and all.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah… if you hadn’t, it’d drive you insane.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, for sure!”</p><p> </p><p>Takeda giggles, covering his mouth with a hand to not laugh fully out loud, and the sound makes Ukai feel incredibly fond. There’s something infectious about Takeda’s laugh and smiles, which is one of the biggest reasons he ever agreed to any of his requests, including that of going out on a date. And 90% of the reason he agreed to this whole beach trip in the first place. </p><p> </p><p>“But well, we are here with them now, so…” he says in a cheery, almost innocent tone, and really, Ukai shouldn’t be surprised when he sees Takeda dangling a pack of condoms in front of him. “We might as well make the best out of it!”</p><p> </p><p>“Wh- You- Wh-” Ukai blurts out, looking frantically around the corridor, his face burning red like he had never seen the stuff before. “Where did you get that?!”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re at a drugstore, and sexual safety is an important part of healthcare. It’s not uncommon for drugstores to sell these,” Takeda uses his Professoral Tone on him, the playful smile dancing on his lips betraying him. “You should know this, Keishin. Weren’t you the one who bought the extra large ones last t-” Ukai grabs the pack in a hurry before anyone else can see it, holding it away from Takeda.</p><p> </p><p><em> “I fucking know that, I meant-” </em> he whispers harshly, stopping mid-sentence once Takeda starts giggling in amusement. He clicks his tongue and finishes. <em> “You’re a </em> <b> <em>menace!”</em> </b></p><p> </p><p>That seems to do it for him. Takeda breaks into a full-blown fit of hysterics, first in a burst of loud laughter that builds up to a silent, frantic wheeze quite quickly. He's laughing his ass off, pressing his face to Ukai's shoulder after contorting  like a worm for a while, trying to whisper something along the lines of 'I'm joking', and, really… he shouldn't have this contagious of a laughter, because Ukai finds himself giggling along in a couple of seconds in spite of his frustration. </p><p> </p><p>"You're so <em> immature," </em> he whispers in between breathy laughs.</p><p> </p><p>He's tempted to continue this banter until he hears Yamaguchi clear his throat right beside them, making them jump a foot in the air. They stand up straight two steps away from each other in a second. Takeda gets so red he looks just as sunburnt as Tsukishima. </p><p> </p><p>"I found it," Yamaguchi murmurs and hands them the anti-sunburn lotion. The boy stares at them for a few seconds, eyes darting from Takeda, to Ukai, to the condoms pack, until he settles for staring at the ground uncomfortably, pressing his lips together in a thin line. </p><p> </p><p>"T-T-That’s great! Haha! Thank you so much, Yamaguchi!" Takeda scrambles to take the bottle from him and put it in their basket, adjusting his glasses afterwards to try and cover his face and his embarrassment. "We should get a couple of these in case anyone else needs it and go! The others are waiting for us to have breakfast and all!!"</p><p> </p><p>“Right… I’ll get a couple more.” Yamaguchi announces and leaves the aisle once again.</p><p> </p><p>Without exchanging a single word, Ukai and Takeda agree that this was one of their most embarrassing moments in their lives, hands down. There's no way around it. All three of them are going to leave the drugstore embarrassed and traumatized in some way. Ukai immediately shoves the pack of condoms into the nearest shelf with no care if that's the right shelf or not, and Takeda spends at least five seconds hiding behind his hands before looking up and walking away from the scene. </p><p> </p><p>At the very least, it was Yamaguchi who saw them. Yamaguchi doesn't seem like the type to spread gossip. </p><p> </p><p>… Or, so they think. So they hope.</p><p> </p><p>Surprisingly enough, they come back to a calm inn. The third years are in the kitchen making breakfast for everyone — it’s unclear if it’s out of the kindness in their hearts or what —, Tsukishima is at the living room watching TV with the calm second years and the remaining boys arrive shortly after Takeda and Ukai from their group jog. </p><p> </p><p>During breakfast, a little bit of their natural chaos comes forth again, but with far less strength than the day before. They’re talking and laughing and stealing food from each other’s plates, but not too much. Only notable thing that happens is that Nishinoya asks if they bought watermelons and Ukai finds it weird until he remembers that Suikawari is a game that exists. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who you ask), they don’t, but that doesn’t seem to disencourage Nishinoya, who announces he’s gonna find some to buy before they go to the beach. </p><p> </p><p>After breakfast, they all agree on banding together to go to the beach around 4 PM, when the sun gets a little milder for the day. In the meantime, everyone goes off to do different things. </p><p> </p><p>Hinata and Kageyama practice by themselves at the back of the inn, like the volleyball rats they are; The second years and third years band together at the living room to play the wildest game of Uno; Azumane and Sawamura are just chilling at the living room as well; and Tsukishima, Yamaguchi and Yachi sit at the dining table to work on their summer homework and chatting.</p><p> </p><p>It’s almost like they’re on a trip with normal people. Almost suspiciously so. But Ukai basks in it — the afternoon goes by quite pleasantly. Takeda and him even join the card games at some point during the afternoon, have a lot of lighthearted fun with them. It’s good. <em> Maybe coming here wasn’t a mistake, </em> he thinks. </p><p> </p><p>“Coach! Coach! Coach!” Hinata and Nishinoya say in unison, jumping repeatedly in their excitement. “Can we get money for watermelons? Pleaseeee?”</p><p> </p><p>Ukai looks up at them from his spot. It’s past 5 PM at this point and he just settled down under the beach umbrella they set out as their group meetup point after spending time in the water. </p><p> </p><p>“Where do you two even plan on getting watermelons?” Ukai asks, looking around briefly to check if there were any selling stands nearby. There were a couple of vendors close to the beach selling various street foods, but no watermelons.  </p><p> </p><p>“There’s a grocery store nearby!” Nishinoya replies and shoves his phone in his face with some place marked on a map. Ukai has to take the phone from the boy’s hand and away from his nose to be able to read. “Come on, it’s gonna be fun!!!”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you guys wanna eat watermelon that bad? We can get some for dinner later.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s for Suikawari!!!” </p><p> </p><p>“That’s 5 blocks away from here…” Ukai heaves a tired sigh. He really is not feeling like walking with them all the way over there. That’s too much trouble for a game that, quite frankly, he doesn’t get the point off. </p><p> </p><p>“Do we have any problem here?” Takeda steps in, wiping sweat from his forehead. </p><p> </p><p>“Sensei!!!!” the two boys screech, turning to him with sparkles in their eyes. Takeda takes a step back in his surprise, chuckling a little.</p><p> </p><p>“Wow! Why are you guys this excited to see me?”</p><p> </p><p>“Can we go buy watermelons to play Suikawari?” They ask eagerly. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s five blocks away,” Ukai chimes in, in hopes that Takeda will back him up. </p><p> </p><p>“Sure!” Takeda replies with a smile, instead, taking his fanny pack from his hip to look inside, count some money, then hand it over to his eager students. They celebrate loudly and run off right after. Ukai stares at him incredulously. “It’s going to be fine. They’re not going to die in the 10 or so minutes they’ll be unsupervised.”</p><p> </p><p>“You sure? That’s Nishinoya and Hinata you’re talking about.” Takeda chuckles at that.</p><p> </p><p>“I know it’s easy to forget, but this isn’t a school trip, Keishin,” he talks in a sweet, calm tone, and Ukai huffs, putting his hands in the sand behind him to support his weight. “You can relax.” a pause. “How about we go on a walk?”</p><p> </p><p>Takeda offers him his hand, bending down slightly, beaming down on him like the afternoon sun. Ukai thinks about refusing for a single second, thinking about the strain in his muscles from swimming in the ocean, briefly looking at the teens having their own fun, then looking back at Takeda, and a walk around the beach doesn’t sound so bad. So he takes Takeda’s hand, basking in the way his eyes crinkle at the corner when his smile grows wider, and gets up from his towel. </p><p> </p><p>They go to the edge of the beach as to avoid the scolding hot dry sand, letting the waves wash gently over their feet as they walk away from the populated area of the beach and into a more empty side, giving it a couple of steps before they link their hands together. </p><p> </p><p>“Coming to the beach was a great idea,” Takeda comments, taking his eyes off the ocean to look at Ukai once again. “This is pretty much the beach trip we planned, is it not?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure, just with a bunch of teens to bother us,” Ukai grumbles with a shrug.</p><p> </p><p>“I suppose you don’t want kids, then?” he asks casually, the idea that he’s been thinking about this stuff already does things to Ukai’s heart he doesn’t fully understand.</p><p> </p><p>“Hell <em> no,” </em> Ukai replies immediately, and both of them laugh about it. </p><p> </p><p>“I’ll ask you again in a couple of years.” </p><p> </p><p>Takeda declares and Ukai shrugs. They keep walking for a while in silence, watching the calm waves wash over the beach, basking in the low orange and pink sunlight as the sun sets behind the houses. </p><p> </p><p>“You’re stressing yourself too much over this, are you sure you’re okay?” Takeda breaks the silence once again. Ukai knew he would and he sighs. “You can talk to me.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m fine, it’s just…” he sighs once again and stops, trying to put his thoughts into a coherent sentence. “I never had anyone rely on me before, much less kids. The only times people relied on me was the team back in highschool and, like, my mom with the store. And I don’t know if I’m doing anything right. I sure hope I am.” Takeda looks attentively at him, knowing that he has more to say. It’s appreciated. “How do you do it? I don’t know when I should let them do what they want, I don’t know when I have to step in and put some limits… How are you so chill about this?”</p><p> </p><p>“Practice and a degree in education,” Takeda says with a chuckle. “But mostly experience. You learn how to deal with them the more you spend time around them. Besides, they’re not <em> toddlers, </em> they’re teenagers. They already know how to tell right from wrong and, even if they don’t, they’ll learn with the consequences of their actions.” </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah…” Ukai hums lowly.</p><p> </p><p>“Sometimes, you really gotta let them loose. Things can go wrong, of course, but most of the time, the worst thing that can happen is that you’ll end up with an embarrassed teenager and a funny story to tell.”  </p><p> </p><p>The two of them laugh again. Yeah, they have a few of these stories to tell later, already. </p><p> </p><p>“Wow, you’re more evil than people give you credit for,” Ukai comments fondly. Takeda giggles once more. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m not being evil, I just try to see positive in every possible outcome, including stressful situations.” </p><p> </p><p>Takeda stops walking for a moment, pushing Ukai back when he keeps going. When he turns around to check, Takeda looks him in the eyes, with that little sparkle in his eyes that he gets when he has something inspirational and over the top to tell the boys before a game, and takes both of Ukai’s hands in his, bringing them close to his chest. </p><p> </p><p>“You’re doing better than you think,” he starts, voice low and soft like the waves. “The boys really trust you, admire you, respect what you have to say, and I’m truly happy to see that. Not only that, but seeing how much you dedicated yourself to the team and how much you care… It’s one of the reasons I fell for you, if I’m being honest. Insisting on you was the best decision I could’ve made.”</p><p> </p><p>Oh, he’s too old for these butterflies, for the blush creeping up his neck and face. Ukai looks at the ocean again in search of comfort, a giggle stuck in his throat and his heart squeezing happily in his chest as he cowers from the sudden affection. Takeda keeps pulling these stunts on him and he’s always surprised. One day, he hopes he can say things as eloquently as that back at Takeda, but that’s not gonna happen anytime soon.</p><p> </p><p>“You really have a knack for the dramatics, huh,” he spits out after a moment to recollect himself, chancing a look at Takeda afterwards to see him smiling brightly. </p><p> </p><p>“Guess it comes with the literature studies,” he confesses, putting down Ukai’s hands for once, keeping only one to tug him along the walk again. “Should we go back? We’re pretty far already.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, it’s getting late. We should head back.”</p><p> </p><p>Or… Maybe they should’ve kept walking away from the beach, never to come back. When they show up again, the teens are all gathered together around two smashed watermelons, and they all simultaneously stop eating to stare at them. They look up from their watermelon pieces to stare at them with beady knowing eyes and teasing smiles. No one asks questions because they know the answer. </p><p> </p><p>These teasing looks remain in their faces for the rest of the night, anytime Ukai and Takeda interact minimally. On the walk back to the inn, during dinner, while they’re lounging at the living room for the last time. They’ll be hopping back into the bus and to their town after lunch the next day. Hopefully they’ll stop finding it funny by the time they get home, because if they’re not gonna let them live, Ukai might consider a career change. </p><p> </p><p>Ukai would like to believe it’s because Yamaguchi snitched on them, but… really, you don’t go on long walks on the beach with your platonic pal. They should’ve seen it coming. </p><p> </p><p>Still, when they lay down to sleep that night, there’s a lazy smile stuck on his lips and a weird sadness that it has come to an end. </p><p> </p><p>“Did you enjoy your time here, after all?” Takeda asks as he crawls under Ukai’s futon, settling down with the head on his shoulder and an arm wrapped lazily around his middle.</p><p> </p><p>“Do I really need to answer that?” he says with a chuckle, but Takeda won’t close his eyes to sleep. Ukai sighs. “Yeah, I liked coming here. It was fun.” </p><p> </p><p>“Good, good.” </p><p> </p><p>Takeda mumbles contentedly, closing his eyes at least. Ukai follows suit, shifting slightly in his embrace to find a more comfortable spot, letting sleep wash over him and take him away to the land of dreaming, feeling relaxed at once. The night goes by quietly, peacefully, filled with lighthearted dreams that he won’t remember in the morning. </p><p> </p><p>Ukai slowly wakes up to the sound of talking. It’s faint at first, like there’s a group of people talking miles and miles away, muffled by the distance, but it starts getting closer and closer. Playful words in hushed tones reach his ears slowly, until it all comes crashing down with a flash of light in his eyes.</p><p> </p><p><em> “Oh, shit!” </em>This isn’t a whisper anymore. Ukai opens his eyes with great difficulty, catching a glimpse of who he thinks is Tanaka and a couple more students looming over him, phones pointed straight at him. That is, until they notice he has his eyes open, faces going from mischievous amusement to realizing they’re in deep fucking trouble before they run off. “Run! Run for your lives!” </p><p> </p><p>“What is this all about?!” Ukai, now fully conscious and fully furious, sits up in a second, screaming from the top of his lungs. “You pests! Hope you’re all ready for 1000 motherfucking flying falls when you get home, you’re not escaping this so easily!!!”</p><p> </p><p>“What’s going on?” Takeda asks, with his face still smushed against Ukai’s thigh, barely awake.</p><p> </p><p>“Ugh…” Ukai covers his face with his hands and groans, disappointed in himself that it’s already turning into laughing as he listens to the hysterical laughter of the Karasuno boys coming from the living room. “I hate this goddamn family…” he says finally, with great fondness in his heart. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>*suikawari is a traditional japanese game that involves smashing watermelons with bats/sticks while you're blindfolded, commonly played at the beach or in festivals/picnics sometimes.</p><p>thank you so much for reading all the way through!! please consider leaving a kudo and/or a comment.<br/>you can talk to me through <a href="http://kenmagoesblep.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/kenmagoesblep">twitter</a>.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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